§ Mr. CROOKS (Woolwich)To ask the Secretary of State for War 1231 whether it is proposed to appoint Surgeon Lieutenant Colonel (Hon. Surgeon Colonel) P. B. Giles, one of the medical officers of the First Herefordshire Rifle Volunteers, to the office of principal medical officer of one of the Loudon divisions of the Territorial Army, who does not reside in London; and, if any question of seniority of commission is concerned in the appointment, whether such a principle of selection has been adopted in connection with similar appointments to other divisions of the Territorial Army.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) It is proposed to appoint this officer as stated in the Question. He is Commandant of the Volunteer Ambulance School in London, an institution which has been most successful in training a large proportion of the Volunteer medical officers. He resides near London. Seniority was not the determining factor in selecting officers for the appointments mentioned in the Question; but those officers best fitted to carry out the work were chosen, seniority being given its due weight.